May CCC Sunday 2025

Dear CCC members,

In keeping with CCC's endeavor to create a more inclusive environment by giving neurodivergent students a platform to perform, we introduced a new segment in our May 2025 monthly program. Prabhav Sriram and Meghna Naik opened the May CCC program by singing 2 bhajans, along with keyboard and mrudangam accompaniments. Many thanks to their Guru, Smt.Vidya Rajagopalan for working with these students and training them. It was a well received program, with applause from the heart and we hope to continue hosting neurodivergent music students in the months to come.We would like to extend a huge 'thank you' to our incredible CCC volunteers. Though they work behind the scenes, their contributions are invaluable - Amazing audio arrangements by Nami and team, pertinent powerpoint presentations by the team led by Srikanth Mahalingam and the youth team volunteers Manasa Praveen and Anirudh Suresh, solid social media video posts by Kedar Shankarram and Saatvik Swaminathan ! We especially want to recognize our youth volunteers, who are doing an excellent job with the tasks they take on at CCC !

Photos LINK (Team lead: Barath R, photos courtesy of Praveen Ramanathan & Balaji Lakshminarasimhan)
Video is currently being processed and the link will be available on our website www.carnaticchamberconcerts.com by this weekend.
Video Link : https://www.youtube.com/embed/aW_AtTzz6bY?si=OUtNCedhJynuLpwA
(Video recording/editing/upload by CCC video team led by Nithya Ashok and youth volunteers Anirudh Suresh & Sathya Ganesan)

Regards,
Krithika (on behalf of the CCC logistics team)Following is the summary of our May 11th CCC program by EmCees, Sahana Prasanna and Vivrd Prasanna, who are also CCC alumni.
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Namaskaram everyone!Our May CCC took place on Mother’s Day—a very special occasion—and we were treated to an array of Devi krithis in keeping with the theme. The lineup featured a mix of vocalists and instrumentalists, including Amulya(violin solo), Arjun, Janani, Kedar, Meera (veena solo), Sahana, Nikita, Saharsh, and Rajalakshmi(veena solo). We enjoyed a variety of compositions and ragams, such as lambOdaram avalambE in kAmbhoji, karpagamE in madhyamAvati, lalitE sri pravriddhE in bhairavi, and a unique RTP in rasikapriya composed by Sri Shivakumar Bhat, presented by Nikita to conclude the event. Keeping in tune with the Mother's Day theme, the participants also presented Sharade Karunanidhe in Hamir Kalyani, ShivE pAhimaam in Kalyani, SuraPaala Sannuthe in Dharmavathi, Jaya Jaya Padmanabha in Sarasangi, and Deva Deva Jagadeeshwara in Poorvikalyani. Bhajar Re Manansa in Abheri included a Ragam and Thanam on the veena, making it an almost-RTP presentation.We’re grateful to our CCC gurus for their tireless effort and dedication for working with and training their students. Smt. Kasthuri Shivakumar, Sri. Srinath Bala, Smt. Sandhya Srinath, Sri. Gopi Lakshminarayanan, Sri. Shiv Kumar Bhat, Smt. Savita Rao, Smt. Anuradha Sundar, Smt Hamsa Raghuvir, Sri. Saravanapriyan Sriraman, Sri.Srikanth Chary, Smt. Akila Iyer and Smt.Abirami Shankar were in the audience, encouraging and supporting the participating students !We also celebrated several prize winners from this year’s Cleveland Aradhana and shared a few announcements: the YSTCA marathon concert is scheduled for Saturday, September 13 at the Dominican Sisters Auditorium, and the sign-up form for the Carnatic Chronicles Summer 2025 edition has just been sent out.As we reflected on our experiences growing up in the CCC community here in the Bay Area, we felt grateful for how much this musical family continues to mean to us, even through college and beyond. CCC has been the place for so many meaningful “firsts”: our first time stepping onto a Carnatic stage, our first time working with accompanists, and with each slot, a new milestone in our musical journey. Emceeing today gave us yet another new “first”—switching from the performer’s mic to the emcee’s mic, learning how to keep the program flowing, and realizing there is always more to learn, even as alumni.A heartfelt thank you to Padma Aunty, Krithika Aunty, and Chinmai for giving us the opportunity to emcee. We had a wonderful time and gained a renewed appreciation for all the effort that goes into organizing these events.Our next CCC event is on Sunday, June 8 at SSP at 2 p.m. We hope to see you all there!
With Regards,
Sahana Prasanna and Vivrd Prasanna (May 2025 CCC EmCees)